New student forum for NauMai NZ WeChat mini programme

Education New Zealand’s NauMai NZ platform is designed to inform, support and empower international students.

A WeChat mini programme – an app designed for the WeChat ecosystem popular with Chinese students – has extended NauMai NZ’s reach, attracting over 12,000 users in its first year.

The NauMai NZ WeChat mini programme helps students make the most of their New Zealand experience, with advice on everything from finding a part-time job and knowing their rental rights to looking after their wellbeing and understanding Kiwi English. There are also stories from students about their lives – for instance, people sharing ideas on what to do during their summer in New Zealand.

“We know that Chinese students prefer to connect with each other in their language, on the WeChat channel they trust,” says Faymie Li, Senior Advisor for Student Experience at ENZ.

“We’re delighted to see how much they enjoy this digital platform and how quickly it’s growing. It’s great to be able to connect Chinese students to each other and to people who’re willing to help them out.”

The WeChat mini programme has now run six livestreams hosted by experts, alumni and current international students on topics including employability, how to grow your network, and mental health and wellbeing. Students tuning in to watch can use the chat feature to ask questions.

The livestreams have attracted a total of nearly 3,000 live views with over 18,000 engagements during the live events and, so far, more than 1,000 views afterwards.

The WeChat mini programme has now added a new forum so that Chinese students and alumni can better share their life and study experiences and support one another. The text-based, moderated forum allows students to have their questions answered by their peers.

A group of international students have signed on as ambassadors for the WeChat forum, including alumni from the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia programme. One of the forum ambassadors, Mengdi Zhang, says she’s looking forward to connecting with newer students.

“I am excited to be a student ambassador so that any students with unresolved questions can reach out. I can see my own past in the students’ questions, and I hope to help them through to a better experience in New Zealand,” she said.

If you would like to know more about the NauMai NZ WeChat mini programme, contact faymie.li@enz.govt.nz. You can share it with others using the WeChat QR code.